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Adriatic League
Liga ABA, also known as Adriatic League, currently known as the NLB Liga ABA for sponsorship reasons, is a top-level regional basketball league that features teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. The league exists alongside scaled-down versions of domestic leagues in each country (Košarkaška liga Srbije, A1 Liga, Prvenstvo BiH, 1. SKL, Opportunity Liga). All of its teams join their country's own competitions in late spring after the Adriatic League regular season and post-season have been completed. The league is a private venture, founded in 2001 and organized by Slovenian limited liabilty company called Sidro. Adriatic Basketball Association is the body that organizes the league and is a full member of ULEB and a voting member of the Euroleague board, so this league can be considered as a local version of the Europe-wide Euroleague, in which a few Adriatic League clubs also compete (usually Partizan, Cibona, and Olimpija). Adriatic League has inspired a similar competition in the Baltic states, the Baltic Basketball League or Baltic League. History The league was founded on July 3, 2001 with 12 teams, and started competition in fall 2001. Initially, the league had 4 teams from Slovenia, 4 teams from Croatia, 3 teams from Bosnia-Herzegovina, and 1 team from FR Yugoslavia. The league is a private venture, founded in 2001 and organized by Slovenian company Sidro d.o.o. The company also set up the legal entity called Adriatic Basketball Association that manages the league's day to day operations. Between 2001 and 2006, the competition was known as the Goodyear League due to the naming rights sponsorship from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. For the 2002-03 season, the league remained at 12 teams, with one team dropping out and Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv joining. Maccabi left the league after one season, but the league expanded to 14 teams for 2003-04, and to 16 for 2004-05. The league reverted to 14 teams for 2005-06. In September 2006 the league signed a general sponsorship contract with Nova ljubljanska banka (NLB) and was renamed to NLB League, whilst keeping Goodyear as one of the major sponsors. In 2010, the Czech club Nymburk joined the league for the first time. Competition Like most European leagues, the regular season consists of a double round-robin schedule, with each team playing every other team home and away. The top teams in the league then advance to a playoff round to crown the league champion. From 2002 through 2004, four teams qualified, and the playoffs were termed the "Final Four"; starting in 2005, eight teams advanced to the "Final Eight" round. All playoff rounds consist of one-off knockout matches, unusual among European leagues. However, since all Adriatic League clubs play in domestic leagues at the same time, and many also play in the Euroleague, the current format has the virtue of limiting fixture congestion for the playoff sides. Current season teams (2010-2011) Champions * KK FMP competed under the name Reflex in 2003-04 season. Performance by club NLB League Awards MVP Award NLB League Clubs The following is a list of clubs who have played in the NLB League at any time since its formation in 2001 (as Goodyear League) to the current season. NLB League teams playing in the 2010–11 NLB League season are indicated in bold. A total of 27 teams have played in the NLB League. NLB league records *'Highest Index Ratings in a Game' :*59 by Dejan Milojević, Budućnost vs FMP on January 3, 2004 *'Most Points in a Game' :*45 by Milan Gurović, Crvena zvezda at FMP on September 30, 2006 *'Most Two Point Field Goals Made in a Game' :*15 by Nikola Peković, Partizan at Split on December 9, 2007 *'Most Three Point Field Goals Made in a Game' :*10 by Teemu Rannikko, Union Olimpija at Zagreb on December 18, 2005 :*10 by Josip Sesar, Široki vs. Union Olimpija on November 19, 2005 *'Most Free Throws Made in a Game' :*19 by Milan Gurović, Crvena zvezda vs. FMP on December 16, 2006 :*19 by Damir Mulaomerović, Zagreb vs. FMP on January 19, 2010 :*19 by Milan Gurović, Crvena zvezda at FMP on September 30, 2006 :*19 by Igor Rakočević, Crvena zvezda at Reflex on April 16, 2004 *'Most Rebounds in a Game' :*23 by Tommy Smith, Split vs. Reflex on October 4, 2003 *'Most Assists in a Game' :*18 by Ivan Tomas, Zagreb vs. Krka on October 12, 2002 *'Most Steals in a Game' :*9 by Goran Jeretin, Crvena zvezda at Partizan on April 30, 2005 :*9 by Jure Močnik, Helios at Split on April 6, 2005 :*9 by Curtis McCants, Split vs. Zagreb on December 16, 2003 :*9 by Andres Rodriguez, Union Olimpija at Partizan on November 7, 2004 *'Most Blocks in a Game' :*7 by Smiljan Pavič, Union Olimpija vs. Bosna on November 27, 2004 :*7 by Slavko Vraneš, Partizan at Cibona on January 10, 2010 *'Most Turnovers in a Game' :*11 by Jiri Welsch, Union Olimpija at Pivovarna on February 9, 2002 All-Time Leaders Since the beginning of the 2001-02 season: Notable players Well-known basketball players who have played in the NLB League include: Footnotes There is mistake on official site of NLB league. Gecevski (22.27 avg Val) is named MVP for that season, because Gurovic (29.3 avg Val) was accidentally erased from the MVP list. External links *Official Site *Eurobasket.com League Page *Fantaziranje.com Fantasy for NLB League Category:Basketball leagues in Europe